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tank slapper

6K views 8 replies 7 participants last post by  jasonmonster 
#1 ·
So riding one of my favorite roads within the speed limit I ran over a small crack in the pavement that was filled with tar. It was my first tank slapper. I pulled over shortly after because I thought something broke on the bike the way it gave out then wobbled. hopefully I dont have many more of these but if I do that they go in a similar manner. Ride safe everyone.


 
#2 ·
i had a tank slapper once, i was cruising late at night, hit a drain in the middle of the road with a dip, guess my front end got loose, only had one hand on the handlebar, steering started violently slamming back and fourth against the bump stops, i went from the far left lane over 3 lanes to the far right. my knees hit my sliders, i lost a CRG mirror (knocked it off) while trying to get my hand back on the bar, sprained a finger really bad as well. The bike was literally about to throw me off, very scary moment but luckily instead of braking, i rolled on the throttle and i was able to regain control.

Now I have an Ohlins steering damper and it makes a world of difference! especially here in NYC.
 
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#3 ·
A tankslapper, or just a wiggle? What Coolieman1220 describes is an actual tankslapper, and those are very dangerous. Also (fortunately) very rare. If you had a genuine tankslapper from a tar strip, there's something wrong, and you should carefully check your steering head bearings and that your forks are straight and so on.

A little wiggle is a lot less dangerous and a lot more common. The Monster, especially the earlier ones, is light on the front end and is thus prone to wiggle around a bit. A steering damper will help, although I just got used to not worrying about it. If you do nothing, it damps back down and poses no problem.

PhilB
 
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#4 ·
It was not a full lock to lock tankslapper. but It took some strength and two hands to hold on to it. Nothing is wrong with the bike. The front wheel slipped out suddenly when I hit the crack filler causing me to turn the handle bars into the turn. Not counter steering is not the correct why to turn a motorcycle at 50 but it was not an intentional reaction just a byproduct of the wheel slipping, leaning on the turn and me getting on the throttle (causing the front end to get even more "light") It felt a lot more violent then the video shows. Bikes are like women even they try to dump you sometimes.
 
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